Book of Wisdom 12,13.16-19. There is no god besides you who have the care of all, that you need show you have not unjustly condemned; For your might is the source of justice; your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all. For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved; and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity. But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us; for power, whenever you will, attends you. And you taught your people, by these deeds, that those who are just must be kind; And you gave your sons good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins.
Psalms 86(85
You, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call upon you. Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer and attend to the sound of my pleading.
All the nations you have made shall come and worship you, O Lord, and glorify your name. For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds; you alone are God.
But you, Lord, are a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity. Turn to me, have pity on me; give your strength to your servant.
Letter to the Romans 8,26-27. Brothers and sisters: The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God's will.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Chris t according to Saint Matthew 13,24-43.
Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?' He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn."'" He proposed another parable to them. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'" He spoke to them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened." All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world." Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned (up) with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear."
In today’s Gospel (cf. Mt 13:24-43) we once again encounter Jesus who is intent on speaking to the crowd in parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. I will reflect only on the first one, that of the weeds, through which Jesus helps us understand God’s patience, opening our hearts to hope.
Jesus narrates that, in the field where the good seed was sown, weeds also sprouted. This term sums up all the toxic vegetation that infests the soil. Among us, we can say that even today the soil has been devastated by so many herbicides and pesticides that, in the end, harm the grass, the soil and our health. But this is parenthetical. The servants then go to the master to understand where the weeds come from. He responds: “An enemy has done this!” (v. 28). Because we sowed good seed! An enemy, someone who is in competition, came to do this. The servants want to go right away to pull the weeds that are growing. However, the master says no, because there could be a risk of pulling the wheat along with it — the weeds. It is necessary to wait for harvest time: only then will the weeds be separated and burned. This is also a common-sense narrative.
We can read in this parable a way of looking at history. Alongside God — the master of the field — who only and always sows good seed, there is an adversary, who sows weeds to impede the wheat’s growth. The master acts in the open, in broad daylight, and his goal is a good harvest. Instead, the other, the adversary, takes advantage of the darkness of night and works out of envy and hostility to ruin everything. The adversary whom Jesus refers to has a name: it is the devil, God’s quintessential opponent. His intention is to hinder the work of salvation, to stonewall the Kingdom of God through wicked workers, sowers of scandal. Indeed, the good seed and the weeds do not represent good and bad in the abstract, but we human beings, who can follow God or the devil. Many times we have heard of a peaceful family, and then war or envy begins... a neighbourhood that was peaceful, then nasty things begin to happen... And we are used to saying: “someone went and sowed weeds there”, or “that person in the family sows weeds by gossiping”. Destruction always happens by sowing evil. It is always the devil who does this or our own temptations: when we fall into the temptation to gossip to destroy others.
The servants’ intention is to eliminate evil immediately, that is, evil people. But the master is wiser, he sees farther. They must learn to wait because enduring persecution and hostility is part of the Christian vocation. Certainly, evil must be rejected, but those who do evil are people with whom it is necessary to be patient. This does not mean that type of hypocritical tolerance that hides ambiguity; but rather, justice tempered by mercy. If Jesus came to seek sinners more than the righteous, to cure the sick first before the healthy (cf. Mt 9:12-13), then our actions too as his disciples should be focused not on suppressing the wicked, but on saving them. Patience lies here.
Today’s Gospel presents two ways of acting and of experiencing history: on the one hand, the vision of the master who sees far; on the other, the perspective of the servants who see the problem. The servants care about a field without weeds; the master cares about good wheat. The Lord invites us to adopt his vision, one that is focused on good wheat, that knows how to protect it even amid the weeds. It is not those who are always searching for others’ limitations and flaws who cooperate well with God but, rather, those who know how to recognize the good that silently grows in the field of the Church and history, cultivating it until it becomes mature. And then, God, and he alone, will reward the good and punish the wicked. May the Virgin Mary help us to understand and imitate the patience of God, who does not want the loss of any of his children, whom he loves with a Father’s love.
FAUSTI - "Let them both grow up together," says the Lord to those who propose to Him to eradicate the tangle. The weed is a poisonous and infesting herb. At first it is not distinguishable from a small plant of wheat, then it takes root so well that, by tearing it away, the same wheat is uprooted. We would like the Christian community to be perfect, pure and flawless, and we are anxious to eradicate the weeds inside and around us. The greatest disasters come precisely from the attempt to eliminate evil. Sacred violence is the worst. "for the sake of good" violates all freedom. The triumph of good will only be at the end, and by God's work. First is the time of patience, ours and His that sees the evil of us and others as a place of mercy, respectively received and accorded. The church is not a sect of the pure; in it there is place for all. And we shall be judged by our own judgment, measured by our own measure. the mercy we shall have used shall be our measure of truth. God's judgment is already given on the cross, where the Son brings upon Himself the evil of the world: to Him our perdition, to us His beauty. Truly the cross, green wood, burns instead of dry wood. The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a grain of mustard, invisible as the head of a pin. Its extreme smallness is scandalously associated with the greatness of the Kingdom. Its greatness is not that of the highest cedars. It is that of the wood of the cross, where the birds find nests. Thus all the trees of the forest know " Who " is the Lord, the One who humbles the high tree and raises the low tree, makes the green tree dry and makes the dry tree germinate. (EZ 17:22-23) He Himself is the green wood that dries up to burn our iniquities and communicate His lifeblood to us. If the little seed thrown becomes the great tree of the cross, that fist of dough gone bad, taken and hidden in three measures of flour, is the Christ buried, hidden for three days in the heart of the earth, will leaven it of new life, free from the old yeast of malice and wickedness. "Thus shall it be at the fulfillment of the world." says Jesus . Two fires will shine: the fire of the wicked that burn like garbage, and the fire of the righteous that shine like the sun. The fulfilment of the world is compared to the harvest, the time when the seed becomes bread and joy. It will be when God has accomplished in the world His work, His Masterpiece: the Face of the Son. Only then, not before, will there be judgment. Already now He has sent the Apostles to sow the Word, by whose listening we are judged. The time, the life we have at our disposal, is over: it has a beginning, a development and a end. In the end, only Love will remain, which never has an end. The fire of God will then make manifest the work of each one. The straw of our selfishness will be burned and what is precious will endure. The sun is the symbol of God. Whoever hears the Word becomes like the Father (5:48) shines of His Glory, like the transfigured Son. What in us will not be filial and fraternal will disappear. Then we will cover ourselves with burning redness for all that we now frequently us proclaim . The listener will be given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom; and the more he has, the more to him will given.
Book of Wisdom
RispondiElimina12,13.16-19.
There is no god besides you who have the care of all, that you need show you have not unjustly condemned;
For your might is the source of justice; your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.
For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved; and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity.
But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us; for power, whenever you will, attends you.
And you taught your people, by these deeds, that those who are just must be kind; And you gave your sons good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins.
Psalms 86(85
You, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
All the nations you have made shall come
and worship you, O Lord,
and glorify your name.
For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds;
you alone are God.
But you, Lord, are a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity.
Turn to me, have pity on me;
give your strength to your servant.
Letter to the Romans
8,26-27.
Brothers and sisters: The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God's will.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Chris
t according to Saint Matthew 13,24-43.
Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?'
He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
He proposed another parable to them. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'"
He spoke to them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened."
All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables,
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world."
Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one,
and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned (up) with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear."
POPE FRANCIS ANGELUS 19 July 2020
RispondiEliminaDear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning,
In today’s Gospel (cf. Mt 13:24-43) we once again encounter Jesus who is intent on speaking to the crowd in parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. I will reflect only on the first one, that of the weeds, through which Jesus helps us understand God’s patience, opening our hearts to hope.
Jesus narrates that, in the field where the good seed was sown, weeds also sprouted. This term sums up all the toxic vegetation that infests the soil. Among us, we can say that even today the soil has been devastated by so many herbicides and pesticides that, in the end, harm the grass, the soil and our health. But this is parenthetical. The servants then go to the master to understand where the weeds come from. He responds: “An enemy has done this!” (v. 28). Because we sowed good seed! An enemy, someone who is in competition, came to do this. The servants want to go right away to pull the weeds that are growing. However, the master says no, because there could be a risk of pulling the wheat along with it — the weeds. It is necessary to wait for harvest time: only then will the weeds be separated and burned. This is also a common-sense narrative.
We can read in this parable a way of looking at history. Alongside God — the master of the field — who only and always sows good seed, there is an adversary, who sows weeds to impede the wheat’s growth. The master acts in the open, in broad daylight, and his goal is a good harvest. Instead, the other, the adversary, takes advantage of the darkness of night and works out of envy and hostility to ruin everything. The adversary whom Jesus refers to has a name: it is the devil, God’s quintessential opponent. His intention is to hinder the work of salvation, to stonewall the Kingdom of God through wicked workers, sowers of scandal. Indeed, the good seed and the weeds do not represent good and bad in the abstract, but we human beings, who can follow God or the devil. Many times we have heard of a peaceful family, and then war or envy begins... a neighbourhood that was peaceful, then nasty things begin to happen... And we are used to saying: “someone went and sowed weeds there”, or “that person in the family sows weeds by gossiping”. Destruction always happens by sowing evil. It is always the devil who does this or our own temptations: when we fall into the temptation to gossip to destroy others.
The servants’ intention is to eliminate evil immediately, that is, evil people. But the master is wiser, he sees farther. They must learn to wait because enduring persecution and hostility is part of the Christian vocation. Certainly, evil must be rejected, but those who do evil are people with whom it is necessary to be patient. This does not mean that type of hypocritical tolerance that hides ambiguity; but rather, justice tempered by mercy. If Jesus came to seek sinners more than the righteous, to cure the sick first before the healthy (cf. Mt 9:12-13), then our actions too as his disciples should be focused not on suppressing the wicked, but on saving them. Patience lies here.
Today’s Gospel presents two ways of acting and of experiencing history: on the one hand, the vision of the master who sees far; on the other, the perspective of the servants who see the problem. The servants care about a field without weeds; the master cares about good wheat. The Lord invites us to adopt his vision, one that is focused on good wheat, that knows how to protect it even amid the weeds. It is not those who are always searching for others’ limitations and flaws who cooperate well with God but, rather, those who know how to recognize the good that silently grows in the field of the Church and history, cultivating it until it becomes mature. And then, God, and he alone, will reward the good and punish the wicked. May the Virgin Mary help us to understand and imitate the patience of God, who does not want the loss of any of his children, whom he loves with a Father’s love.
FAUSTI - "Let them both grow up together," says the Lord to those who propose to Him to eradicate the tangle. The weed is a poisonous and infesting herb. At first it is not distinguishable from a small plant of wheat, then it takes root so well that, by tearing it away, the same wheat is uprooted.
RispondiEliminaWe would like the Christian community to be perfect, pure and flawless, and we are anxious to eradicate the weeds inside and around us. The greatest disasters come precisely from the attempt to eliminate evil.
Sacred violence is the worst. "for the sake of good" violates all freedom.
The triumph of good will only be at the end, and by God's work. First is the time of patience, ours and His that sees the evil of us and others as a place of mercy, respectively received and accorded. The church is not a sect of the pure; in it there is place for all.
And we shall be judged by our own judgment, measured by our own measure. the mercy we shall have used shall be our measure of truth.
God's judgment is already given on the cross, where the Son brings upon Himself the evil of the world: to Him our perdition, to us His beauty.
Truly the cross, green wood, burns instead of dry wood.
The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a grain of mustard, invisible as the head of a pin.
Its extreme smallness is scandalously associated with the greatness of the Kingdom.
Its greatness is not that of the highest cedars. It is that of the wood of the cross, where the birds find nests. Thus all the trees of the forest know " Who " is the Lord, the One who humbles the high tree and raises the low tree, makes the green tree dry and makes the dry tree germinate.
(EZ 17:22-23) He Himself is the green wood that dries up to burn our iniquities and communicate His lifeblood to us.
If the little seed thrown becomes the great tree of the cross, that fist of dough gone bad, taken and hidden in three measures of flour, is the Christ buried, hidden for three days in the heart of the earth, will leaven it of new life, free from the old yeast of malice and wickedness.
"Thus shall it be at the fulfillment of the world." says Jesus .
Two fires will shine: the fire of the wicked that burn like garbage, and the fire of the righteous that shine like the sun.
The fulfilment of the world is compared to the harvest, the time when the seed becomes bread and joy.
It will be when God has accomplished in the world His work, His Masterpiece: the Face of the Son.
Only then, not before, will there be judgment.
Already now He has sent the Apostles to sow the Word, by whose listening we are judged.
The time, the life we have at our disposal, is over: it has a beginning, a development and a end. In the end, only Love will remain, which never has an end. The fire of God will then make manifest the work of each one. The straw of our selfishness will be burned and what is precious will endure.
The sun is the symbol of God.
Whoever hears the Word becomes like the Father (5:48) shines of His Glory, like the transfigured Son. What in us will not be filial and fraternal will disappear.
Then we will cover ourselves with burning redness for all that we now frequently
us proclaim .
The listener will be given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom; and the more he has, the more to him will given.